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15 Grand Valley agencies plan for wildfire-related emergencies

Fifteen agencies from around the Grand Valley met Thursday night to begin support and coordination efforts with firefighters and each other in response to the growing Pine Ridge Fire.

Shortly after an evacuation was ordered for a portion of De Beque, officials stood up an emergency operations center at the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department to coordinate infrastructure protection, emergency shelters and health advisories, as well as to offer whatever support is needed to the incident command post, which manages the firefight.

The goal of the center is to be a step ahead of the fire, county Emergency Manager Andy Martsolf said. “Our job is to plan for the worst-case scenario,” Martsolf said. “We’re here to support the incident managers, to coordinate resources and to plan for future threats.”